Losing your keys is up there with one of the most anxiety-inducing situations you can find yourself in. Whether it’s your car or your home that you find yourself locked out of, a missing key can have the power to put your entire life on hold.

It’s easy to fall into a panic when you realize your key is no longer in your possession, but try to refrain from doing so. It’s only going to cloud your judgment and make it much harder for you to deal with the situation at hand. Instead, focus on the things that you can do- which will ultimately help you to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

If you have lost your house or car keys, here is what you should do:

House

Losing the keys to your house is an inconvenience, an annoyance at most, but it’s certainly not the end of the world. If you know for sure that your keys are in your house, your first thing to do is think about whether you might have given a spare key to somebody else. This can be an easy end to a difficult situation, so it’s worth checking just in case.

If you think you might have lost your keys while you were out and about, retracing your steps is always a good idea. There are plenty of good Samaritans who will hand in lost items to local authorities like the police and other businesses, so it’s a good idea to give the relevant people a call and pay a visit to the public places you last frequented.

In a case where you still can’t find your keys, it’s time to take real action and give a locksmith a call. Even if you’re ringing late at night, a locksmith can usually come to your home immediately to help you gain entry to your home, and replace your locks- although out-of-office hours may be at a surcharge. There are special tools for locksmiths that can be used to break your old locks and give you the easiest access through your front door.

Car

Losing your car keys is where things get a bit more difficult. Again, if you think you might have lost them in a public place, follow the above advice and retrace your steps around the areas you’ve frequented. If you get no luck from doing so, you’ll need to set about arranging for a replacement set.

The first thing to do is to get together all the information about your car that you can, including its year of production, make, model, and VIN number. In most cars, you should be able to see this information on your dashboard, through the window of your car. It can also be found in your insurance documents.

While you’re looking at your insurance policy, check to see whether you can claim for the cost of a replacement key. If you can, ring your insurance company’s emergency helpline to explain the situation.

Finally, ring a locksmith to have the key replaced yourself. Car keys are a lot trickier to replace than house keys and tend to be far more expensive for this reason. You will also most likely be required to visit your local car dealership with your car’s documents to prove that you are its real owner.